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Kalamazoo, Mich., April 12, 2018 – Catalyst Development Co., LLC (Catalyst) plans to break ground in July 2018 on a $70 million, 290,000-square-foot mixed-use building in the heart of downtown Kalamazoo. The building is slated for a June 2020 completion date.This development will be located at the southwest corner of North Edwards and Water Streets, overlooking Arcadia Creek Festival Place.

Catalyst is transforming part of the city-owned Parking Lot 9 into a seven-story building with two floors of residential housing (41,000 square feet), four floors of Class-A office space (55,000 square feet), and a multi-level 300-plus space parking deck.

In addition to residential units, employment opportunities, and parking, features and highlights of the development will include: The Kalamazoo Promise, The Kalamazoo Promise Institute, Communities in Schools, Warner Norcross and Judd, LLP, and Southwest Michigan First.

Kalamazoo, MI – Midwest Opener earned the coveted Makers’ Mart title yesterday at Catalyst University, a daylong leadership event annually hosted by the regional economic development organization Southwest Michigan First at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo. Midwest Opener was selected by the 2,800 event attendees from a pool of five finalists—all regional product makers based in Southwest Michigan.

Midwest Opener (midwestopener.co) located in Kalamazoo features custom-manufactured, stainless-steel bottle openers that let customers show off their unique pride.

The Catalyst Education Awards received applications from teachers, principals and entire schools from across Southwest Michigan, competing in each of the three categories—school, principal and teacher— to be recognized for innovations and achievements in K-12 education. The 2018 winning educators recognized were:

SELECT Products Limited received final approval for its Brownfield plan which will enable the consolidation of its current operations in a newly constructed facility on property located at the end of Stadium Park Way in Oshtemo Township. The manufacturer of commercial continuous geared aluminum door hinges for the architectural hardware industry plans to invest $3 million in a new 42,000 to 50,000-square-foot facility. The rapidly growing company plans to relocate 30 employees from its current leased facility in Portage and add four more to its workforce. The new facility will accommodate light machining and assembly work, with the potential for future expansion including an aluminum anodizing facility.

Kalamazoo, MI – The Monroe-Brown Internship Program, a partnership between Southwest Michigan First and the Monroe-Brown Foundation, announces its 2018 summer college internships. This year’s 23 internships will be hosted by 18 Southwest Michigan companies and include opportunities in engineering, financial planning, human resources, marketing, architecture, construction and product management—to name a few.

Kalamazoo, MI – Newell Brands Inc. is expanding its 40,000-square-foot state -of-the-art design center in Western Michigan University’s Business Technology and Research Park in the city of Kalamazoo. The company has recently acquired the consumer products company Jarden and needs to expand its design capabilities in order to accommodate the additional product lines. The company plans to expand its existing product design and testing facility in the city of Kalamazoo, investing $7.3 million and creating 87 highly-paid design jobs.

LANSING, Mich. –Xcel Painting is investing in St. Joseph County with support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced today. Xcel plans to establish a new facility in thevillage ofWhite Pigeon, investing $1.75 million and creating 50 jobs. The company selected Michigan over a competing site in Indiana.

“Xcel’s investment in White Pigeon means good jobs for Michigan residents that could well have gone to another state,” said Jeff Mason, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the state’s chief marketing and business attraction arm that administers programs and performs due diligence on behalf of the MSF.

KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM/FM) — Southwest Michigan First says they expect Michigan will ultimately benefit from the recently-signed “Good Jobs for Michigan” bill package, despite the state losing out on a sprawling LCD plant to Wisconsin.

Kalamazoo-based Southwest Michigan First, an economic development nonprofit, has created a national footprint, despite its regional name.

When SWMF was founded 19 years ago, its mission was to provide economic development services to cities and towns in 17 counties in the southwest corner of the state. Since then, the organization has nurtured a national clientele through economic development and leadership conferences, private consulting and webinars. It also works to connect economic development agencies around the country with site-selection professionals looking for the right place to locate a business.

Alamo Township, MI – Local manufacturer Quality Precast, Inc. has announced that it will construct a new 25,000-square-foot production facility and corporate headquarters, adding 20 new jobs to Alamo Township.

A precast manufacturer specializing in manholes, large block retaining walls and more, Quality Precast will invest $1,352,185 in this expansion. In support of this project, the company received a $3,000 grant approved by the Kalamazoo County Brownfield Authority to conduct Phase I environmental site assessment. Alamo Township is also supporting the project with a 12 year tax abatement.